Fire-box-arch construction



Apr. 24, 1923.

A, H. WILLETT FIRE BOX ARCH CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 18, 1920 g 2E 25 g m g g g V In!!! I!!! I!!! I I;

INVENTOR. 4%! A WW BY y ATTORNEYS.

' Apr. 24-, 1923.

A. H. WlLL-ETT FIRE BOX ARCH CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 18, 1920. s Sheets-Sheetf,

INVENTQQR. 64W

Y B g 1 A; will] I ATTORNEYS.

1,452,948 A. H. WILLETT FIRE BOX ARCH CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 18 1920 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 III'IIIIIA C I m fif). I 172777565";

filia /1 4%;

l7! 7 g I INVE NTOR. 74

B A TTORNEYS.

Patented Apr. 24, 1923.

UFNITEDVARSTATES 1,452,948 PATENT OFFICE,

ALFRED H. wrLLEr'r, 0EwEsr 1\T w YORK, NEW JE sEY, ASSIGNOR ro AMERICAN ARCH COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

FIRE-BOX- ARCH CONSTRUCTION.

Application filed 0ctober'18, 1920. Serial No. 417,665.

To allwhom it may concern.

Be it known that I, ALFRED VVILLETT,

a citizen of the -United States, residing at est New York, in the county "of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire- Box-Arch Constructions, of which=the following is a'specification.

Thisinvention-melates to boiler fire box arch constructions and is especially useful in locomotive practice. In providing these arches it has generally been customary heretofore to support the main or body portion of the arch upon circulation tubes with the side or wing portions extending from this inainportion to the sidesheets or, whereno circulation tubes are employed, it has been customary to support the entire arch'from studs in the side sheets. In other words the side or wing bricks composing the side portions of the arch have depended in some way or other for support from the main or body portion.

It is the primary object of my invention to provide 'a support for the side or wing portions of an arch of the character specified which is entirely independent of the central or main body portion of the arch. More specifically stated my invention contemplates the provision of a series of thimbles secured to and extending through the side water legs and projecting into the interior of the fire box to form means for supporting arch bricks therefrom in such manner as to be entirely independentof the main or body portion of the arch.

Another object of my invention is the provision ofa thimble supported brick construction of-the character outlined in which the bricks entirely protect the metallic supporting means from the action'of the fire. It is also an object of the invention to air cool the thimbles'or brick supporting members.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a construction in which the brick supporting members can be readily removed and replaced. r f

The foregoing together with such other objects as may hereinafter appear or are incident to my invention are obtained by means of a construction, various modifications of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through a locomotive boiler fire box taken on the line 1 -1 of Figure 2 and illustrating my invent1on applied thereto; Figure 2 is a section on the line 22 of Figure 1; Figures 3m 8 inclusive are partial transverse I sections through locomotive fire boxes embodying various modifications of the general inventive idea involved in this application; Figure 9 is an. enlarged detailed sectional view illustrating one form of brick supporting thnnble construction; and Figure 10 is a section similar to that of Figure 9 illustratlng another form of brick supporting-thimble construction. g p

Referring to the drawings and firstespecially to Figures 1 and 2 it willbe seen that I have therein illustrated invention as applied to a locomotive boiler fire box A of usual construction comprising a crown sheet 1, a roof sheet 2, side sheets 3 and f on the 1I1side,side sheets 5 and 6 on the outside, which pairs of side sheets form side water legs 7 and 8, inside back sheet '9, flue sheet 10 which is continued downwardly-as throat sheet 11, front water leg 12 and rear water leg 13. The waterleg's are closed by the mud ring 14, the grate line being indicateddiagrammatically by the reference character 15. Upwardly and rearwardly extending arch tubes, three in number in the showing of Figures 1 and 2, connect the forward water leg 12 with the rear water leg '13. The arch tubes are designated by the reference character 16 and it will be seen that theysupport a plurality of refractory bricks 17 forming the main or body portion of an arch. This main or body portion I haveindicated as a whole by the reference character The bricks 1 7 fare socketed upon; the central tube 16 andf'extend upwardly and outwardly towardthe other tubes with their outer ends resting upon the upper surfaces thereof. This arrangement provides the possibility of a ready and convenient adjustability inasmuch as bricks of but asingle size may be utilized to span thedistances between the tubes of differently spaced settings. This portion of the arch is prevented from sliding forwardly on the'tubes by means of any suitable spaced block 18 interposed between the forward edge of the arch and the throat sheet 11. Between this main or body portion B and the side sheets 3 and 4 are located. the side OF-WlI1g sections of the arch which I have indicated as a whole by the reference chara-c ters C and D. The construction ot' these portions will now be considered.

Two series of thimbles, one on each side of the fire box, are provided and they extend upwardly and rearwardly in a linewhich substantially parallels the slope of the circulation tubes. These thimbles 19 extend through the side water legs and have a portion 20 which projects into the interior of the fire box. The projecting portions 20 are bent slightly so that they incline upwardly; A series of bricks 21 on each side of the main or body portion B which compose the side sections C and D are supported from the projecting portions 20 in such manner as to substantially fill in and close the gap between the edges of the main portion of the arch and the side sheets. At each end of each series there is a brick of somewhat larger size 21 through which is formed an aperture for receiving one of the portions 20. The adjacent faces of the bricks 21 and 21 meet in a plane which passes through the center of the thimbles and such adjacent spaces are formed with semi-circular grooves which surround and enclose the projecting portions 20 as clearly shown in the drawings. It will thus be seen that the bricks forming the side or wing sections C and D completely surround and therefore protect the metal of the thimbles from the disintegrating action of the fire.

The thimbles communicate with the atmosphere at their outer ends and open into the fire box'at their inner ends by virtue of which construction it is possible tomaintain a stream of air flowing through them during operation of the fire box. This tends to cool them and at the same'time provides a means for supplying a secondary supply of air to the fire box.

In Figures, 3 to 8 inclusive various ar rangements and modifications are illustrated all of which, however, are characterized by the fundamental idea of the present invention, namely, the independent support for the side or wing sections C and D regardless of the manner in which the main or body portion B is supported.

The main or body portion B in Figures 3, a, 5 and 7 is composed of a plurality of bricks of a standard construction which I have designated as 17. In Figure 6 the main or body portion of the arch is shown as composed of one style of interlocking bricks 17" whilein Figure 8 is illustrated another form 17". g

In Figures 3, 4 and 7 the main or body portion B is entirely supported on the circulation tubes 16, but in Figures 5, 6 and 8 the outer bricks of the mainor body portion B are shown as having one end supported from the bricks of the wing sections C and D.

In Figures 7, 8 and 10 is illustrated a modified construction for supporting the bricks of the side sections. In these figures the projecting part 20 which acts as a support for the wing bricks is provided with a shank 19 adapted to fit into and project through thimbles 19". The supporting members are inserted from the interior of the fire box, outward movement being limited by the stop 22 formed preferably as an annular rib which comes into contact with the inner end of the thimble. The outer end of the portion 19 extends beyond the outside side sheet and is provided with a thread and a nut 23 and 24 by means of which the supporting member is tightly secured, and yet readily detachably so, in the thimble 19.

It will be noticed that in Figures 7 and 8 the supporting extensions 20 are shown as slightly curved and that the wing bricks 21 supported thereon are shaped to correspond. This modification can be employed or not as desired. It is particularly useful in the arrangement of Figure 7 should it be desired to replace one or more of the wing bricks as this can be done without interference wit or from the other bricks.

I claim:

1. In a locomotive fire box provided with circulation tubes and an arch supported thereon, the combination with the side water legs of the fire box of a plurality of brick supporting members projecting into the fire box from said water. legs and a plurality of bricks supported on said members independently of the circulation tubes, said bricks forming edge or side portions for the arch.

2. In a locomotive fire box having an arch th main or body portion of which terminates short of the sides of the box, the combination of supporting members projecting into the fire box from said sides and bricks supported on said members independently of the main or body portion of the arch and arranged to constitute the wing or side portions of the arch. i

3. In a locomotiv fire box having circulation tubes and side water legs, the combination with the main or body arch composed of bricks supported on the tubes, of side or wing arch sections comprising supporting members projecting into the fire box from the water legs and bricks: supported thereby.

4:. In a locomotive fire box having side water legs and an upwardly and rearwardl'y inclined tube supported main or body arch, the combinationof a plurality of thimbles extending through the water legs and projectinginto the fire box and arranged in rows inclined upwardly and rearwardly to follow substantially the line of the main body arch, and a plurality of bricks supported from said thimbles independently or the tubes or the main arch and arranged to formside or wing sections for the main arch.

5. In a locomotive fire box provided with iso a circulation tube and an arch supported thereon, the combination with the side Water legs of the fire box of a plurality of air conduits extending through said legs and projecting into the fire box and a plurality of bricks supported on said conduits independently of the circulation tube, said bricks fonningfedge or side portions for the arch.

6. In a locomotive fire box having an upwardly and rearwardly inclined main or body arch, the combination of a plurality of brick supporting members projecting in- Wardly from the sides of the box and arranged in rows inclined upwardly and rear wardly to follow substantially the line of the main arch, and a plurality of bricks supported on said members and arranged to form side or Wing sections for the main arch.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

ALFRED H. WILLETT. 

